Kyle Hamilton was back at Georgia for G-Day this weekend.
The 3-star safety from Marist in Atlanta was paired with some of the elite recruits before the game. He was hanging with an elite crowd which included 5-star commits Jadon Haselwood and Nolan Smith and 5-star RB target Trey Sanders, among several others.
He was there listening and laughing to an exchange that included now former Georgia great Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.
It wasn’t enough to seal the deal.
Hamilton, a very impressive student with a 30 on his ACT, opted to commit to Notre Dame on Tuesday night.
Hamilton’s decision wasn’t the easiest. The Bulldogs were definitely in it and he had a great unofficial visit with the Bulldogs.
The Irish earned his commitment after stiff competition from both Georgia and Michigan.
The 6-foot-4, 188-pound prospect starred for the state finalist War Eagles last season as an all-state performer. He rates as a 3-star recruit and has slowly moved up to the nation’s No. 54 safety prospect on the 247Sports composite.
That number isn’t elite but bear in mind that Hamilton did not really showcase himself on the evaluation circuit as a rising junior last spring and summer.
DawgNation was told that Smart valued Hamilton to the extent he didn’t need to see more than a couple of plays on his highlight tape in order to extend the offer.
John FitzPatrick, a 2018 UGA signee, made a point to also make sure Hamilton knew all about the program. FitzPatrick was Hamilton’s teammate at Marist and shared a very strong opinion of what the student-athlete can do.
“He’s an absolute stud,” FitzPatrick told DawgNation back in March. “Could play any position. At safety, he flies in from 20 yards out and takes people out.”
The decision places a greater emphasis on 4-star Texas safety Lewis Cine going forward. The 6-foot-2.5, 185-pound prospect was also at G-Day this past weekend.
Cine rates as the nation’s No. 3 safety for 2019. He feels the Bulldogs will sign two safeties for this cycle.